Drinking water in Italy

Particularly in Rome there are public fountains all over where you can either drink or fill a bottle. Everyone carries bottles they refill. Your bus driver will doubtless sell water on the bus for 1 Euro too. I would not bother to pack a 1 liter bottle or to buy one at the airport after security. I would just buy water once you get settled at your first hotel and then refill after that. If it is hot, then buy the cold water from your bus driver.

BTW, your RS guide will show you how to use the Rome drinking fountains. The fountains are so neat!

The RS Tour bus driver, not the city bus driver, lol!

I can't imagine why you think the water in Italy would not be safe to drink. Why in the world would you think that? Do you hear of Italians falling over sick and dead from the water? Italy is not a country without modern facilities, a modern culture, and is part of the modern Europe. Good grief! That's like asking if the water in Idaho is safe to drink.

We refilled bottles from taps all over Italy and it was just fine. Rome's water is particularly good! Just don't do it from any marked "acqua non potabile". I like to tuck a little sugar-free powdered drink mix in our bag for occasions when the water is bound to get pretty warm before we can refill them again. Even the best water can taste a little funky when it's not cold. Bleh.

The nasoni in Rome are everywhere and there is even an app for you phone or iPad which shows you where they all are.

Monte, let's dial back the outrage. Denny asked if the water was "decent," not whether it was safe to drink. It's a perfectly legitimate question.

Denny's question about "decent" water (he didn't say "safe") was understandable to me we've been places here in the States where the water, while perfectly safe to drink, didn't taste all that great. There were a few instances where it had an weird color or didn't smell all that wonderful, either. Shoot, the water in the suburb we lived in before our current address often had a noticeable chlorine odor compared to what comes out of our tap here.

Water varies from city to city - Rome's is great, Florence not so much (from public fountains).

In some provinces, the local tap water is so good that it is served at the restaurant table with a tag explaining it, no charge for water.

Italians generally drink purchased water....

Do the Italians recycle water bottles?

Oregon led the way in the States in applying deposits to throw away drink containers:
http://www.bottlebill.org/legislation/usa/oregon.htm

Oregon enacted the nation's first legislated beverage container
deposit system in 1971. The law remained relatively unchanged until
2007, when bottled water was added to the system (effective in 2009).

@ Maggie, I am sure you meant avoid drinking the water where the sign says "non potabile."

Denny,

Just to add to chorus in this Thread, I've always found the tap water to be perfectly safe in various parts of Italy. I normally refill my bottle before going out touring for the day, and then refill as necessary during the day.

Just to warn from previous reply.
Potable water is to a drinking water standard
Non Potable water is water not to the drinking water standard,

so the comment There are spouts all over, just look for the "non potabile" signs. means it is not safe to drink

Quirite, yes, I knew from previous posts that Denny is doing a RS tour in Italy. Sorry I wasn't clear on that and I am glad Rankster knew what I meant and could clarify! Wouldn't that be hilarious, to have the drivers on regular city buses also sell water, wine, soda....!!

Thanks for all the different voices in the chorus of responses to my question(s). I know I need to stay well hydrated to feel well, and I do have some chronic health issues which make that imperative.

Here at home (in Seattle) I almost always have with me, in my North Face backpack, a 1-liter Nalgene water bottle filled with tap water. This way I'm never at the mercy of having to look for a store that sells beverages or a cafe (like Starbuck's).

It sounds like taking an empty 1-liter Nalgene water bottle would be a good idea. I can't wait to see what water is available to drink in Italy, especially if it's coming from a fountain or underground spring, etc. and to fill my reliable Nalgene, a steady companion whenever I've traveled, for instance, to San Francisco, etc.

I spent all day yesterday and today refilling my half litre plastic bottle (the one I refilled after security before I flew from England (I have to say England on here because there is no GB or UK Forum here and the webmaster only acknowledges England) ) at all the free running water taps in Venice, Burano and Murano.

The water in Venice from the public running taps (they look like a tall fire hydrant with a drain for the flow in Venice) is excellent tasting and cold. I watched a small dog leaping at the flow and standing on back legs to point his head towards the water in Burano yesterday - adjacent to the park next to the Vaporetto dock there. He tried and tried, then a small boy ran over and held him up until he was full which allowed the little dog to wander around Burano redistributing the water here and there.

No, BTW, the dog never reached or touched the tap.

The nasoni in Rome are cute and helpful, and their water tastes great. There are actually at least 2 iPhone apps for the nasoni - I have both Nasoni and Rome-Drops on my phone.

The water in Italy is perfectly decent.

The water in Indianapolis, Indiana USA however smells like a swimming pool and tastes like a swamp -- I highly recommend you avoid it.

The fountains where you refill water bottles both in Italy and in Paris pretty much require a water bottle. I rarely see fountains that allow someone to drink directly from as we do in the US; they are designed to fill a cup or bottle. Italians routinely have bottles to refill at the local fountains.

In France, tap water for free is the norm at restaurants. In Italy the norm is to buy bottled water. Having watched a restaurant employee filling the 'bottled water' bottles at the town pump, I always order the water with gas in restaurants so I am relatively sure of getting what I am paying for.

We usually stay in an apartment. So we half fill a water bottle and put it upright or at a steep tilt in the freezer so that there is a layer of ice in the bottom. We then fill with water and slip a gant (one of those terrycloth bath mitts) over the bottle to absorb condensation and have cool water on a hot day of touring.

Janettravels, it appears you haven't seen the Roman nasoni fountains. They're constantly running water, and if you plug up the spout, water arcs out from a hole you couldn't see before to allow you to drink from it. It's much more hygienic than the American system that allows people to wrap their mouth around where the water comes out.

Here's a great photo illustrating a nasone at work: https://formaggioheads.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/img_0368.jpg

When I was last in Umbria, many restaurants were serving acqua con gas made from tap water with an enormous carbonator (like a huge sodastream). Not sure if this is widespread. It did seem much more eco-friendly.

I do wish I had carried a collapsible water bottle with me from the US, though, easier to deal with as it got emptier..........

I've been reading replies to the water question from Denny, in March 2015. It's nice to read that the drinking water is so readily available, I have a slight obsession with always having water with me at all times, so these replies are soothing my anxiety, plus we purchased the collapsible water bottles to carry on our trip.